Love of the Owl
by Ike hime
Summary: Who do you go to when you want to desert the dark side? The obvious option seems to be a member of the Dream Team…at least…to Draco Malfoy it does… HrD
1. Chapter one

**Love of the Owl**

_Disclaimers note: Alas, they aren't mine. Curses..._

_This is my first post here on , so I'm hoping people will be kind enough to say howdy, and then give me some helpful pointers. Flaming for the sake of flaming is ridiculous and rude, so unless there is a point to your criticism that will help me improve, please do not write anything at all. _

_And with that business out of the way, onto the first chapter!_

* * *

**Chapter one**

He looked into the dreary sky above and pulled the coat tighter around him. It was just beginning to rain, and he shuddered as a particularly fat drop ran down the back of his neck. Strangely, the rain seemed to suit the street he was standing in, and he smirked wryly. _No place like home,_ he thought to himself as he rapped on the door loudly. Upon hearing no response, he pulled out his wand and whispered 'Alohamora' at the lock; the door clicked open. _Thank God Dumbledore finally convinced the ministry it was dangerous enough to let me use my magic out of school..._

He replaced the wand in his back pocket and stepped through the door onto a deep red carpet; he was greeted by three scowling faces. "What are you doing back so early, boy?" spat Uncle Vernon, (the fattest one at the bottom of the stairs carrying a baseball bat in his right hand.) He abstained from rolling his eyes, and stared levelly at the pig-like man before him.

Harry had gotten used to welcomes such as these since his Aunt and Uncle had been informed of Voldemort's return. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia had proved themselves to be as stupid as he thought. For, every time they heard a twig snap, or an owl hoot, or even a firing car exhaust, they thought Voldemort would walk in through the front door (in a muggle populated area) and kill them. ("Yes Uncle, whatever you say," had been Harry's response to this stupid idea.)

Harry glared at the fat oaf stood before him in all his stupidity. The oaf glared back at him. Uncle Vernon had not treated Harry so badly recently, since his warning from Lupin and Mad-eye, and his knowledge of Harry's recent magical abilities. Not to mention the fact that the whole family now knew that the possibility of being turned into something 'unnatural' was very real, as Harry had been granted the use of his magic during the holidays.

"I forgot I wasn't allowed home before 9:00," he sneered, wringing some water from the front of his too-large shirt. "Well it was raining so we decided to go home."

"WE! You mean you and someone else?" Uncle Vernon laughed. Harry simply rolled his eyes; that was usually what 'we' meant wasn't it?

"Well-" he tried to continue, but Uncle Vernon cut him off.

"Who was this other person?" Harry blushed a shade of pink.

"No-one really... Just someone from school..." he turned a darker red.

Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon exchanged glances and briskly left Harry alone in the hallway, ascending the stairs and muttering quietly to one another. Harry rolled his eyes a second time before jumping up the stairs, throwing open the door to his newly built bedroom and collapsing on his bed. His thoughts were filled with images of Cho; they had shared their first kiss today under the moonlight on the Oakwood bench by the swings...

It was everything he had wanted and expected. He'd felt like fireworks were going off around them, like the whole world crumbled away and stopped just for them.

He was savoring the memory in his mind and mouth; how he had wished that she didn't have to leave! Just three days away and then he could see her beauty everyday; watch her eat, watch her talk, watch her walk and with his invisibility cloak...hey, even watch her sleep!

:-:-:-:-:

Just three days until he was out of this hellhole; he simply wished the days would flow more quickly so that he could get back to school.

He couldn't wait to be with Ron and Hermione again and now he had been made a prefect, he would be able to actually sit with them on the train for a change. He wondered what the prefects' carriage was like, and what the advantages were... He smiled despite the fact that he was in the last place he wanted to be.

Soon he would be gone and he could forget about the Dursleys for a while. He soon found himself dozing and minutes later, was asleep.

* * *

"I'm sorry, Hermione isn't in right now. Do you want me tell her anything? Where? She's walking in Klantoa Park, who is it please? I'll get her to phone ba-" The phone had cut off. _Teenagers these days,_ she thought to herself, shaking her head.

:-:-:-:-:

Hermione was sat on a swing rocking slowly backwards and forwards, clutching one of the ropes that were keeping the swing suspended to her chest, so she was facing one direction. Her mind was full of questions, and for once, she was unable to come to an answer, and it was frustrating her deeply.

She hated him; what was he playing at? She knew he couldn't be serious but she couldn't figure out why he would want to joke about it... Ever since they had known him, it seemed as though he had every intention of being a death eater. It was madness, why would he want to switch sides now, when his side was winning?

Did he want to spy?

Did he want to kill them all when they trusted him? More importantly to her, what was the point of his kiss...?

She smiled to herself as she recalled the whole incident...despite who it actually was, she had actually found it really nice.

:-:-:-:-:

She had been walking around the park early yesterday morning and she'd heard a rustling in the bushes on the left hand side of the path. She reached down to grab her wand, and then stopped, laughing at herself and how panicky she was being. _Don't be stupid Hermione; it's probably just the wind!_ she thought to herself. She carried on walking, trying to figure out how they were going to protect Harry, especially now the death eaters had broken out of Azkaban yet again, when she heard the rustling again, and saw a streak of blonde in the center of the bush, and dark, malicious eyes. She realized that it was _him_.

"Malfoy! What the hell are you doing? Get out here now!" she shouted at him, waving her wand in the direction of the bush. No movement. "Fine if you won't come out, I'll force you out. Stupefy!"

No effect. "Why the hell didn't that affect you Malfoy?" She was perplexed, but quickly found another solution to her problem. "Fine, if that didn't work, this will! Accio Malfoy." This had an effect. He came flying out of the bush looking mildly disturbed and flying straight at Hermione. He managed to knock her over, and she fell onto the grass with a loud 'oomph'. Then, she simply lay there looking at the sky for a few seconds before realizing where she was and what had just happened. She jumped up and pointed her wand at Malfoy once more.

"On your feet!" she said to him as he was lying face down in the mud. She noticed tints of red on one side of his head. He slowly, very slowly, moved his legs and climbed to his feet. He looked at her through those eyes again. Those beautiful, haunting, deadly eyes...

This time she saw the blood. There was blood running down one side of his face; he had all his weight on one leg and was clutching one arm. He averted his eyes when she looked back at him. "Oh...Malf-" she stopped. "Draco."

He started slightly at hearing his first name coming from a Gryffindor. "Yeah..." he replied feebly, continuing to investigate his shoes.

"What happened?" He shook his head (accidentally spraying some blood in the process),

"Nothing...it was nothing... But...the reason I came here..." he looked back into her eyes, back with confidence; this, was Malfoy.

She summoned him to sit next to her on the Oakwood bench. "I am here to discuss... My joining the DA..." he said, looking back to his feet again. She raised an eyebrow. "Should I really need a reason why?" he exclaimed upon seeing her reaction. "I mean, as long as I _join_, what difference does it make?" She pulled him down next to her and cleaned him up with a healing spell.

"I want to know what happened..." she said looking deep into his eyes. He stared straight back into hers and noticed the true beauty within her concerned eyes.

He couldn't help his next action. He pulled at the front of her robe and kissed her.

:-:-:-:-:

Back into her normal time frame, Hermione realized it was now dark... How she wished she could have that kiss just once more... She carried on looking at the night sky; how beautiful it was...

She suddenly gasped as a strong arm reached in front of her and tightened around her neck.

She was pulled backwards off the swing and she hit the grass behind with a thud.

She was pulling at the arm but it wouldn't come off. She tried to reach for her wand but it was in her pocket and the position she was in wouldn't allow for her to reach it. Suddenly the arm let go and she sank to the ground breathing quickly.

Slowly, she opened her eyes and saw blonde hair. "Draco?" she whispered, "why did you-?"

"I'm not Draco," replied the blond haired person. She tried to refocus her eyes but failed. She sat up and slowly her eyes became less and less blurry. She opened her mouth to scream. "Silencio!" he drawled, well-rounded vowels slithering into the cool evening air.

She stared at him in horror; what was she going to do now? What did he want and why was he here?

"I am going to talk to you girl, but any screaming and I won't hesitate to hurt you. Finite." She found that she could talk again; she felt odd at being relieved to hear her own whimpers. "Now..." he continued, "what _have_ you been saying to my son?"

She looked up at Lucius Malfoy, one of the richest and most powerful members of Voldermort's side, and suddenly realized how much danger she was in. _Oh God..._ She heard talking some distance away...but she could still hear them. She jumped up and screamed as loud as she could.

Lucius frowned, and in no rush or hurry, pulled out his wand and waved it at her chest. "Crucio." She screamed even louder than she thought was possible and collapsed to the floor in pain. Looking up, she saw that he was holding his wand ready to cast another curse, if it was needed...

She closed her mouth. She was wriggling and writhing on the floor in pain at his feet. "Now," he said again, sitting next to her and pulling her to sit upright by her collar, "why did my son try to come and see you?"

She simply sat there motionless. "You can't have passed out from just one spell can you?" he said with a true look of disgust on his face. He put his wand away and rolled her over onto her back. He sighed. "Pitiful half-blood." He rose and strode slowly away. And Hermione slept there behind the swings for the whole night.

* * *

_And that's chapter one. Comments?_

_Additional: I forgot to say at the top. A/U, eventually Hermione/Draco._


	2. Chapter two

**Love of the Owl**

_Disclaimer: Refer to last chapter. It applies for pretty much the whole thing._

* * *

**Chapter two**

"Ronald Weasley!" shouted the matronly Molly Weasley up the stairs. "I told you to go to sleep nearly an hour ago!" A red-haired boy sat bolt upright in his bed, and then quickly started flattening his ruffled hair. _She must have heard all the movement up here, _he thought, panicked and excited at the danger... He wiped his lips, half brushed his hair with his fingers (having realised nothing else was going to work) and threw back on his pyjama top. Then he lovingly stroked the side of his girl's face and smiled a lopsided smile at her.

"That was great baby," he whispered to her; he thought he saw a half smile back at him as he looked into her large doe-like eyes. "You'd better go back to hide in the wardrobe love," he said. With that suggestion hanging in the tense air, she slipped off of the bed, and stepped into the open wardrobe, drawing the door shut behind her.

And not a moment too soon, for not more than five seconds later, the door to the youngest Weasley boy's room was flung open. It crashed upon the wall, making the dent in the wall from previous such fierce entrances even larger. Molly Weasley looked furious, and he wisely kept to his bed, using the blanket as a flimsy protection against her wrath.

"How many times have I told you young man? When I say go to bed, I mean for you to go to sleep as well! Both your father and I are having to work long hours, and I don't need you doing goodness knows what up here at all hours, keeping me awake! What on earth _have_ you been doing, anyway?" she asked, casting the shrewd eyes of a mother around the room. Silently, Ron felt proud that he had left no evidence of his actions in plain sight.

"Nothing ma - just practicing a few spells, that's all," he answered, knowing that she'd find that at least acceptable, considering how dangerous things were now... She looked a little surprised by this, and answered in a slightly flustered manner,

"Well, that as it may be, perhaps you could stick to practicing during the daytime, hmm?"

"Yes ma," Ron nodded obediently, putting on his best 'I'm sorry and I won't do it ever again, cross my heart' face. It was obvious his mother wasn't fooled, but a huge yawn overtook her, and she just let the subject drop.

"All right - well, goodnight. And go to sleep!"

"'night," he answered, also yawning, only just realising how tired he was.

Molly Weasley left the room, bringing the door to a close quietly behind her. As soon as the latch had clicked into place, Ron looked over at the wardrobe, and smiled when he saw a large amused eye peering out at him. Tendrils of soft, sunbeam coloured hair stuck out at odd angles from her head, and she still looked slightly flushed. "We almost got caught there love," Ron whispered, having to physically contain his laughter.

She just nodded, looking predatorily at him as she stalked over to the bed, her grace accentuated heavily by the lack of sound she made as she traversed the creaky floor. She smirked, and after casting a look at the door to check that it was properly shut, bent down to engage him in a passionate kiss. He reached up, and tangled his hands in her silky hair, pulling her down on top of him, and-

_Thud! _Ronald Weasley abruptly awoke, to find himself lying on a pile of pillows upon his bedroom floor. He shook his head, and sighed sadly. _Fleur? ...Damnit... Just another ruddy dream... I've got to get out of this house before I go insane!_

* * *

Draco was lying streched out upon his bed, arms folded to create a pillow for his head. Staring up at the rich velvet canopy above him, he was thinking back to his actions in the park. And...he had come to realise this quite quickly...he didn't regret them. Not one of them. _She's just so...different. Now that she's more than a mudblood - she's just...and yet she's more... _His thoughts were disjointed and tangled in one another. All he knew for certain was that just thinking of Granger delighted him. _Not just pretty - but not beautiful. Just so different - herself, rather than a modelled person. And clever, so bloody clever. _

He wrapped his arms around himself, and closed his eyes, imagining that instead of air, he was holding one Hermione Granger. Rising genius of Hogwarts, and close friend to his sworn enemy, Harry Potter. _To be honest, I don't really care about him either way anymore. It just doesn't matter..._

He heard a hiss in the corner of the room and saw his snake hanging from a bar attached to the ceiling; it was looking at him accusingly. Surely it couldn't read his thoughts! _Snakes hate lions..._ If his father ever found out he was having these thoughts... There would be hell to pay!

He sat up and had a quick glance around the room. His eyes darted all around, checking for anything out of the ordinary.

It was a complete mess, snake skins in the corner, clothes over the floor and...a spell book? That wasn't his. He picked himself up and went to observe. 'Spells for the experts.' _Experts?_

He certainly wouldn't class himself as an expert. He picked it up and opened it to the front page. There was a tiny note scribbled in the corner.

'_I was just writing to say, that I had a good time today. I liked our discussion. I was hoping that we could meet again_ _sometime. I will try to go to where we met everyday in case you are there. And I will try to bring Harry and we can practice spells together. _

_Well that's all, though this book might help, so see you whenever! Hermione.'_

He frowned, _Harry_. She had to bring wonderful expert Harry. _Probably doesn't even give a toss about me - not with perfect Potter there to be her 'knight in shining armour'..._ He threw the book at the wall as hard as he could and went to lie back on his bed. He already regretted throwing the book when he heard the stomping of his father coming up the stairs; he just hoped to himself that he wasn't drunk again.

_Minutes later_

"Father, _don't_!" It was a dark night outside the Malfoy estate and a gloomy atmosphere inside "Please... Dad..." Curled up on the floor, was Draco, tears streaming down his face, barely able to keep himself from falling unconscious.

"Stop it father!" he cried again. Why, oh why hadn't he hidden the stupid book when he heard him coming up?

"No! You disobedient, weak, worthless child; you are no son of mine! Talking to a mudblood like that, what did she say to you? _Talk to me _boy!"  
  
The Malfoy boy shook his head, the spell making it difficult to so much as speak. However, knowing that he would get no reprieve if he didn't, he forced himself to talk through the pain. "I don't know why she gave me it! Why would I understand anything a mudblood does- _no, not again, **please**_!" Draco was on his hands and knees sobbing uncontrollably and his father was pointing his wand at him, a smirk on his face.

When his father said nothing, Draco slowly raised his head to look at him, but he dared not meet his eyes. His father leant down to him and Draco sighed; it was finally over... For tonight at least.

Suddenly, Lucius' hand shot out and grabbed his son's chin, and pulled it up so that Draco had to look him in the eyes. His father scowled, and it was obvious that he knew more than Draco had feared. "Nothing happened, did it?" The air of calm sarcasm in Lucius' voice scared Draco more than anything else that had happened so far. He waved his wand deftly, and conjured up an image of what had happened earlier in the park.

Draco watched in fascination as Hermione appeared before his eyes again, and nearly forgot his situation. But, when Lucius swept a hand through the image, causing it to disappear, he squeaked in panic. "Maybe just one more should teach you not to lie to me, fool! And then another, to remind you _not to mix with those filthy mudbloods! _Crucio!" A deafening scream filled the room, and Draco soon realised that it was coming from him. His father was laughing as if lapping up all the pain, and finding it delicious. Lucius cast the spell again, leaving Draco no time for breath.

"Crucio!" Though he had little strength left in him, and even less breath, Draco still managed to rasp out a spell.

"Protego!" Thankfully, he saw that the spell had been reflected, and watched in sick fascination as his father was hit by the Cruciatus curse. He toppled over, mouth open in a silent grimace of pain. Quickly, Draco shakily got to his feet, and ignoring the agonising pain he was in, fled from the room. _There's no way I can stay here! _

* * *

_Same as last time really, if you liked it, tell me why, if you didn't, tell me why (and if possible give me some ideas on how to imrpove.) Cookies extended to all! (And thank you to alexa for reviewing... I'm glad you like it so far m'dear. )_


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